TIPPETT: Piano Concerto / Ritual Dances from The Midsummer M

Will appeal strongly to all interested in Tippett’s chamber music.

There are only two recordings of the complete Michael Tippett String Quartets currently available. The Lindsays concluded their cycle in 1992, with the first three having been recorded in 1975. For many years, apart from the odd chamber concert or private hearing, their cycle has been the only medium for exploring these seminal works. And excellent they are too. However, all Tippett enthusiasts will be delighted that the eponymous Quartet has been selected by Naxos to make a new reading of these superb pieces.

The Tippett Quartet, which was formed a decade ago, has rapidly become one of Britain’s leading string quartets. Their ‘mission statement’ is to combine so-called mainstream repertoire with contemporary works. They have recently made recordings for Dutton Epoch of music by Cecilia McDowall and Stephen Dodgson. These have been well received. Naturally, as their name implies, they have a ‘soft spot’ for Tippett’s music.

Since hearing the first three Quartets way back in 1975, I have agreed with commentators that these works are critical to an understanding of Tippett. The Fourth and Fifth Quartets chart the composer’s progress into a different soundscape, but remain essential to an appreciation of his career.

The first volume of this Naxos release contrasts the first two ‘lyrical’ Quartets with the much more dissonant Fourth, which was written in 1977-78.

The programme notes point out that Michael Tippett, as a student, was ‘invincibly’ drawn to the quartet medium after hearing performances in London by the Busch and the Lener ensembles. He is known to have written a number of unpublished quartets in the late 1920s. However it was the Quartet in A major that was the first work in the genre to be accepted as part of Tippett’s canon. It appeared in its original form in 1935. In 1943 it was revised, being reduced from four movements to three. The composer had felt that the first two were unsuccessful. He composed a new ‘allegro appassionato’, which clearly reflects the composer’s admiration of Beethoven. The slow movement is truly beautiful. It is ‘cast in the form of an Elizabethan Pavane’ and Tippett describes this music as being ‘almost unbroken lines of lyric song for all the instruments in harmony’. The final movement is an enthusiastic allegro which is really a fugue – although without the pedantic overtones that such a form may suggest. This fugue is perhaps more redolent of Beethoven than J.S. Bach.

The Second String Quartet builds on the success of the first and once again owes much of its ethos to Beethoven. It has been well described as being ‘lithe and dancing’. Certainly lyricism is one of the hallmarks of this work. One reviewer suggested that the key designation of F# major should not put off atonalists from enjoying this quartet. Contrariwise, those who enjoy traditional key relationships should not assume that Tippett will oblige them: certainly the work begins in F# minor and concludes in the tonic major, as does the second movement fugue. However, a better impression is gained if it is assumed that Tippett has designed a work that hovers around the ‘noted’ key rather than using it as a part of the work’s tonal structure. Yet the composer himself states that this quartet is the most classically balanced of the first three. At first glance it would appear to be written in standard four-movement form. However the composer insists that the “standard is juggled with and moved around.”

This work ought to rank as one of the finest examples of a twentieth century string quartet. It seems unbelievable that there are only two or three recordings of this currently available. The Second Quartet was first performed in 1943.

The first time I heard the Fourth Quartet, I admit that I was not impressed. Its style seemed a million miles away from the Tippett that I knew and loved. This included the Double Concerto, the first two Quartets, the A Midsummer Marriage and A Child of our Time. I realised that there was a more complex and dissonant side to Tippett’s art – having ploughed my way through a recording of the Vision of St Augustine. I remember hearing the first performance of the Fourth Symphony at the Royal Albert Hall and feeling it was just not what I imagined or hoped what it would be like. It was harder to come to terms with than the blues-influenced Third Symphony. That was all a very long time ago: music, like life, sorts itself out. What was difficult listening for me in 1978 now seems quite reasonable and even enjoyable. Moreover, the same can be said of the Fourth Quartet. Listening to this work for the first time in many years I was impressed by both the sound-world and its formal balance. Tippett has written many, to my mind, obscure and obtuse words about his compositional ethos. Sometimes this can be of help, but more often that not it is a hindrance to an appreciation of the music. The programme notes point out that in this present work Tippett was exploring “the compositional potential of one-movement form, using it a metaphor for the cycle of life.” Here, this life is a specifically human one, and that of a certain individual. Over and above this emotional programme, the composer was attempting to attain the ‘purity and tenderness’ of Beethoven.

The sleeve-notes gives quite a long analysis of this work – which deserves study. However the key thing to note is that there is much beauty in this work – in spite of the reputation this work has for dissonance. And finally, the work is really conceived as being in one movement – as opposed to the earlier works. The Quartet has a number of sections, which contrast tempi, and to a certain extent harmonic language, but is played without a break. Finally the listener will surely note that the third section is truly lyrical: the music here is beautiful and lacks the acerbic sound of earlier pages.

This CD will appeal strongly to all interested in the chamber music of Michael Tippett. The three works as performed with great technical skill, articulation and sheer understanding of the music. Naturally there is a hiatus in style between the first two Quartets and the last. Yet the Tippett Quartet are equally at home with the lyrical demands of the earlier works as they are with the more complex, dissonant and involved structures of the last. However, if the listener needs a sample of the sheer perfection of this recording, they only need to listen to the Lento cantabile of the A major Quartet. This is surely one of the most beautiful and moving pieces of music in Tippett’s catalogue in particular and in English music in general.

-- John France, MusicWeb International

There have been only a handful of recordings of Michael Tippett's oratorio A Child of Our Time--André Previn and the RPO, Colin Davis and the BBC Symphony (with Jessye Norman and Janet Baker), both of which are out of print; Richard Hickox and the City of Birmingham Chorus & Symphony (Chandos), and this one, originally issued on Collins Classics in 1992. Of course, this performance has the benefit of the composer as conductor--and like Britten, Tippett was a fine podium interpreter of his own music, here supported by excellent orchestral and choral forces and some pretty decent vocal soloists.


The oratorio, written at the dawn of World War II, is (in Tippett's words) "a Passion, not of god-man, but of man whose god has left the light of the heavens for the dark of the collective unconscious." Its text, written by the composer, begins: "The world turns on its dark side. It is winter." And from there we are confronted with questions, emotions, and often perplexing aspects of our humanity, specifically the nature of good and evil and the individual's responsibility, expressed in words near the work's end: "I would know my shadow and my light, so shall I at last be whole." Amid the rousing, powerful choruses, poignant solo sections, and vibrant orchestral scoring, Tippett injects several Spirituals, which serve as commentary and help expand the work's reach and message, from "a Europe...stretching out through its torments toward Russia in the East, and even America in the West." It's a brilliant creation (its three-part structure loosely modeled after Handel's Messiah) whose sentiments and questions certainly haven't lost their relevance--and the music sounds with an originality and spiritual force that's as fresh as ever, from the stirring, ominous orchestral opening to the closing strains of the choir and soloists singing "Deep River".


There hasn't been much interest in Tippett's music for quite a while, but as things tend to go with great but neglected composers, it's only a matter of time before performers and record companies "rediscover" his orchestral and chamber music, his choral works and songs, and his five operas. If you don't know Tippett, here is an ideal place to begin; if you're a choral music fan and somehow missed this the first time around, don't hesitate.
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

This selection includes a spoken introduction by Georg Tintner.

Tintner Memorial Edition, Vol. 2: Schubert Symphonies Nos. 8

Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 31, 35 and 40

Includes dance(s) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Ensemble: Symphony Nova Scotia. Conductor: Georg Tintner.

Delius: Violin Concerto

Performances that are excellent, vibrant and well chosen.

This triple CD box set is testimony, in part at least, to the sterling work that Naxos have been doing over the last decade not only for early music in general but for many performers from all over the world who would otherwise have remained little known to us. Several of them are represented here and their work is astonishingly varied, often controversial but always exciting and worth hearing. This is a compilation box and it comes with all the frustrations and pleasures you might expect. It is after all meant as a stimulus to buyers to investigate the work of these groups. On the other hand it could be seen by some purchasers as constituting the early music section of their collection.

A wide range of styles are represented but with many gaps, mostly in the area of very early music associated with the flourishing heyday of the mysterious Knights Templar from the late 11th century to the late 14th century. The history of this organization is cleverly traced throughout the individual booklets that go with each CD. Let’s take them one by one although some of the pieces are interchangeable and could have been placed on any of the discs.

Music for a Knight takes in 20 tracks ranging from Troubadour and Trouvère songs to Hildegard of Bingen. You can also encounter examples from the Cantigas of Santa Maria compiled under the auspices of King Alfonso the Wise of Spain as well as some scurrilous songs from medieval Germany as drawn from the Carmina Burana manuscript.

My only gripe is that Naxos seems to think that the listener’s concentration span is no more than about three minutes. Although much medieval music is quite short where Naxos have an opportunity for a long piece, say with Pérotin’s great ‘Viderunt Omnes’ they, unforgivably fade it out despite the fact that there is clearly ample time left on the disc for the complete work. Shame on you Naxos.

The performances are all excellent, vibrant and well chosen. I have especially enjoyed the sheer bacchanalian joy radiating from the Carmina Burana pieces. These are performed by the youthful Unicorn ensemble who really let their hair down in an orgy of noise. More sober is the ethereal music of Hildegard whose soaring melodies are lovingly tendered by Jeremy Summerly’s Oxford Camerata. It seems odd that we are left with one solo lute piece at the very end rather out of place with the rest and never pursued on other discs. It is sad that Shirley Rumsey is not heard a little more.

Music of the Church - was Hildegard and Perotin not music for the church? - consists entirely of Gregorian chant. This is beautifully and idiomatically sung, as you might expect, by the Nova Schola Gregoriana. The pieces chosen dot around the liturgical year in a dizzying array. For example track 5 is a Gradual ‘Dirigatur’ using words set for the nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (as it is now calculated). That is followed by ‘Domine, Dominus Noster’ for the ninth Sunday after Pentecost.

The disc is sectioned into Introits, Graduals, Offertories, Communion prayers etc. The CD booklet, states clearly which Sunday or festive day each chant belongs to and what is of interest. However as with the other two discs no texts are supplied.

The third and final disc is entitled ‘Music for the Mediterranean’. If you have been to Malta or Cyprus - both islands owned by the Templars - you may well have been to one or other of the museums devoted to their history. So what music did they encounter on their travels? This disc intends to tell you. Of especial interest are the recordings of traditional music and pieces from Turkey and Cyprus performed by the Oni Wytars ensemble: very authentic, very ethnic. It’s interesting to compare their approach to the sound of the pieces on CD 1 from the court of Alfonso the Wise. We know that the Crusaders brought back instruments from the Middle East to Western Europe - the lute, the nackers, the crumhorn. They also brought back performing styles: things that might have reminded them of their travels. That said, I found the Traditional Syrian 'Dinaresade' (track 3) far too long at over thirteen minutes (compare with the Perotin on CD1). The little pieces by Adam de la Halle suddenly chucked in at the end of the disc (weighing in at less than five minutes) are far too short to give an accurate representation. Anyway I wonder to myself why is de la Halle - the so called founder of opera with his ‘musical’ Le Jeu de Robin et Marian - not represented on CD 1? Nevertheless the CD does offer some rare and fascinating material which helps to paint a much fuller picture of music in this particular period, a picture which we in the West are often not a party to.

Recordings are clear and have a suitable ambience. The presentation of the box is attractive and well thought out except that reading the titles and certainly the performer’s names through the red print on the back of the cases needs a very strong magnifying glass.

-- Gary Higginson, MusicWeb International

WILD NIGHTS! • Scott Weiss, cond; Vince Gnojek (s sax); Univ of Kansas Wind Ens • NAXOS 8.572129 (60:23)


TICHELI Wild Nights! DZUBAY Shadow Dance. Bryant Dusk. ETEZADY Anahita. MACKEY Soprano Saxophone Concerto


A wild night, indeed! This isn’t exactly warm-breezy-night-on-the-square band fare, though it would certainly make an exciting concert if the municipal ensemble were up to the considerable virtuosic demands. As we know from their earlier Naxos release, “Redline Tango” (8.570074), the University of Kansas Wind Ensemble has virtuosity to burn. As in that inaugural release of the Naxos Winds Band Classics series, they produce a superb blend and sonority; brilliant and thrillingly massive in full flight and—thanks in large part to a collection of outstanding section soloists—beautifully refined in quieter passages. “Redline Tango” was conducted by long-time Director of Bands John Lynch, who left a fine legacy of technical excellence, musical sensitivity, and dedication to new music. Scott Weiss, holder of the director’s position since Lynch’s retirement in 2007, has plainly maintained the high standards.


The title work of the album starts the proceedings with a swagger. With high energy and high spirited, it lies stylistically somewhere between Copland’s An Outdoor Overture and Bernstein’s more manic moments. Inspired by the Emily Dickenson poem of the same name, it is more about the joy and ecstasy in that work than anything of the poet’s repressed sexual desires. In any case, jazzy and full of surprises, it is the perfect program opener.


Equally effective are David Dzubay’s magical Shadow Dance , a revisitation of Pérotin’s Viderunt omnes and John Mackey’s hyperactive Concerto for Soprano Sax and Wind Ensemble. Dzubay takes the concept of organum to remarkable extremes, creating a frenzied, irreverent modern equivalent of the 13th-century composer’s primitive polyphony. It has little to do with the medieval—excepting, of course, the concluding monk-like chanting of the cantus firmus —but everything to do with joyful celebration of the past. The Mackey Concerto, homage to his teacher John Corigliano, is five movements of nonstop technical demands on the soloist. Flanked by a Prelude and Finale that in themselves would provide a challenging work, the three inner movements celebrate the three materials in the saxophone. “Felt” shows off key work, with wild note bending and alternate fingerings. “Metal” exploits the beauty of the brass, with the sax playing high and sweetly, attended by bells and chimes. “Wood” displays the instrument’s warmth in a sensuous tango. Vince Gnojek, professor of saxophone at the University of Kansas, may not have the sweetest tone—more a reedy American jazz sound than a French quality—but his technical skill is staggering and he is matched by the band members who get an amazing workout.


The other two works, Steven Bryant’s Dusk , a chorale work that shows off the band’s beautiful control and Roshanne Etezady’s three-movement Anahita , inspired by a mural of the Zoroastrian goddess of the night, are attractive, but less-distinctive works. The locally produced recording has great dynamics but not a lot of air around the ensemble, and loud climaxes become congested. It is hard to tell if it is the hall or the miking, but it is not enough to detract significantly from the overall excellent impression. Enough said: those looking for Sousa and Broadway medleys, head for the ol’ band shell. Lovers of top-drawer wind bands and high octane, listener-friendly contemporary charts should apply within. And pick up that earlier Naxos release as well. Great stuff.


FANFARE: Ronald E. Grames

Recording information: August-Everding-Saal, Musikschule Grünwald, Germany (04/27/2008-04/30/2008).

Over the last 25 years the Amadeus Guitar Duo have consistently proved to be one of the world’s most exploratory and admired ensembles. Through their many international tours, recordings, and the symposium they established at Iserlohn in Germany, they have extended the repertoire for the duo and for guitar duo with orchestra. In this release, their inaugural one for Naxos, the programme ranges across the centuries from the magnificent arrangement of Handel’s Suite in G minor, HV 432, through music by the nineteenth-century guitar composer Johann Kaspar Mertz, to contemporary works including the brilliant and virtuosic Fantasie d’oriente e d’occidente by Carlo Domeniconi, which was given its world première by the duo.

On 14 December 1918, women were permitted to stand for Parliament and were granted the vote for the first time in British history. As part of the centenary celebrations for this milestone and to raise awareness of persistent inequalities in society, Hilary Campbell and the distinctive choir, Blossom Street, present repertoire by famous and lesser-known female composers ranging from Rebecca Clarke’s richly moving Ave Maria to Stef Conner’s haunting setting of Hildegard von Bingen’s text ‘O Splendidissima Gemma.’ Blossom Street is a versatile and vibrant chamber choir composing some of the UK’s best young singers, which performs regularly on TV and radio as well as on the concert platform. Directed by Hilary Campbell, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, the group was formed over a decade ago, while the singers were studying at the University of York, and relocated to London in 2007. On the concert platform, Blossom Street has performed at many of the major London venues including Wigmore Hall, St. John’s Smith Square and St. James’s Piccadilly, and further afield at places like the Royal Palace, Madrid.

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REVIEW:

The music dates as far back as 1937 but is mostly contemporary, and it features the fine British choir Blossom Street under its director Hilary Campbell. Ten of the 14 pieces here are receiving their world premieres, and the program collectively suggests a continuity of female creativity. Blossom Street is involved with the texts, making them clear and often sounding gorgeous. A fine release that goes beyond its stated goal and reflects a bit on the nature of music by women.

– All Music Guide (James Manheim)

The Elora Festival Singers, conducted by internationally acclaimed director Noel Edison, is one of the most exciting of contemporary choirs. Their disc of Eric Whitacre’s choral music was nominated for a GRAMMY® in 2010. Now they turn to the art of the Christmas carol, a genre covering a variety of styles, both popular and refined, each piece expressing religious sentiments and beliefs. The music ranges from much-loved settings to new works, from polyphony to more straightforward melodies, in a recital stretching from the Middle Ages to the music of today.

THE VIRTUOSO VIOLA • Roger Chase (va); Michiko Otaki (pn) • NAXOS 8.572293 (68:43)


BENJAMIN Le Tombeau de Ravel. ENESCU Pièce de concert. BACH (arr. Kodály) Chromatic Fantasy. JONGEN Introduction et Danse. VIEUXTEMPS Capriccio. Elégie. PAGANINI Sonata per la gran viola. KREISLER Praeludium and Allegro. B. SHORE Scherzo


Violists live difficult lives. They and their instruments are the butt of jokes, and they don’t get nearly as much attention as violinists and cellists. Nevertheless, the viola is just as attractive as the violin and the cello, and it deserves a repertoire and a discography of its own.


See if this CD doesn’t convince you. You might have some doubts during the opening work by Arthur Benjamin, which is a little too long for its material, and which doesn’t show the instrument off to its best advantage. By the time you get to the Enescu and certainly the Bach, however, you might find yourself thinking how sad it is that you don’t have more viola recitals in your collection.


Lionel Tertis and William Primrose were the 20th century’s most famous violists, and both of their names are prominent in this collection. Roger Chase studied with Tertis for a brief period, and now plays Tertis’s Montagnana instrument (which previously was played by Chase’s teacher Bernard Shore). Tertis also was the inspiration behind some of Joseph Jongens’s works for the viola, although the impressive Introduction et Danse was composed for another violist of note, Maurice Vieux. As for Primrose, he was the intended recipient of Benjamin’s Le Tombeau de Ravel , although Primrose’s encroaching deafness in the late 1950s moved Benjamin to arrange the work for clarinet instead. (It was premiered by Gervase de Peyer.)


In terms of length, the big works here are the Benjamin (13:30) and the Paganini (14:38). Written long after Ravel’s death, the former is hardly mournful in tone, and might better be described as a work cleverly in the style of the French master, but lacking his profundity. Speaking of profundity, that is not a quality I associate with Paganini, but sometimes virtuosity creates its own emotional depth, and I admit I was more impressed with this sonata (really a theme-and-variations set) than I expected to be. (The cadenzas are by Atar Arad.) Kodály’s arrangement of Bach’s Chromatic Fantasy (the one originally for keyboard) is masterly, and the Enescu is of a high stature as well. The Vieuxtemps Elégie might tear out your heart—if you’ve had enough wine—and Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro works just as well on the viola as it does on the violin. The program ends jauntily with Bernard Shore’s own folksy Scherzo.


Chase is a familiar figure in the viola world, and hearing this recital one never doubts that he is a master of his instrument, as well as a musically sensitive and responsive performer. Some violists produce a richer tone, but this probably is more a function of their instruments than of their playing itself. Michiko Otaki is a strong accompanist who is in no danger of fading into the background. They have been microphoned closely, though, so expect to hear more than your share of extramusical noises on this disc. Booklet note duty has been divided between Chase and Otaki, with successful results.


Ask yourself if you really need another violin recital right now, and if the answer to that question is “no,” then acquire this CD at the earliest opportunity. I doubt that you will be disappointed.


FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle